Simple Tote Bag

The little one absolutely loves to read. Sometimes we read 15 or more books in a single day! She has quite a few books but definitely not enough to keep up with her appetite for reading, so last week I took her to the library for the first time. We checked out a bunch of books, and when I was trying to figure out a way to carry all of them around the library and then home, I realized that Hannah definitely needed a tote bag.

Since Aunt Pam was generous enough to send me a ton of cute fabric, I looked through my new stash to find a fun girly print. I absolutely loved the pink with sparkly wands the first time I laid eyes on it. What girl wouldn’t?! When I look at it I think of princesses and fairies and magic. How perfect for a library tote bag!

Another Aunt Pam goodie was the multi-colored cat print. I knew that it was destined to become something for my mom since she loves cats so much. Anytime I see something with cats, the first thing I think of is my mom. I couldn’t figure out what to make, though, until I got the idea to make a tote for Hannah. A tote bag is so functional and since my mom loves to travel, whether it’s a day trip or a week long trip, a tote bag is a great thing to have on hand. I’m thinking of whipping up something else for my mom too with the leftover cat fabric. More to come on that another time!

To make the bags, I used the tote bag tutorial from the blog Skip to my Lou. There are a ton of tutorials for totes but this was perfect. Super quick and easy, and by that I mean no interfacing. Wahoo!

I followed the tutorial completely for the cat tote bag. For Hannah’s bag I increased the size by two inches on both the length and the width, and I sewed the bottom corner two inches instead of one and a half so that the bag would have a wider base and could hold more books. I also made an interior pocket for Hannah’s bag because I wanted a place to store CDs and DVDs where they would be at least somewhat separated/protected from the books.